1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to kitchen utensils generally intended for rinsing and preparing foods such as berries, noodles, pastas and macaroni, vegetables and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to kitchen accessories known as strainers and/or colanders which are generally used for rinsing fruits and vegetables and straining cooked foods such as noodles, pasta and macaroni, and method of using same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For thousands of years, since before the age of the Roman Empire, man has used various implements for the separation of solid substances from fluids, or to separate solids of different dimensions from one another. Such separation implements which separate mixtures of materials having differences in physical dimension or being in different physical states, i.e., solid versus liquid phase, are known by various terms including, but not necessarily limited to, sieves, meshes, filters, screens, strainers, sifters, colanders, and the like. For purposes of ease of discussion, the general class of separating devices will be referred to herein as straining devices.
Generally, the structure of most straining devices includes a container portion into which the mixture or slurry of materials to be strained or separated is poured and at least briefly contained. Usually, the bottom, and sometimes the sides, of the container portion has a plurality of openings. The dimensions of the openings are established to permit either the passage of that material which one desires to collect or to retain that material which one seeks to keep. Optional components of a strainer which would be used in food preparation are a handle by which the user holds the strainer and legs on which the strainer may be rested while the materials to be strained are poured from a primary holding container into the strainer itself. Known handles include a straight member extending horizontally from an upper edge or rim of the strainer or its container portion. Another known version of a strainer is shaped much like a coffee mug having one or more handles, each of which is D-shaped and projects horizontally in an outward direction (rather than vertically and in a downward direction) from the upper edge or rim of the strainer or its container portion.
The addition of one or more handles or legs to the basic structure developed out of the need to be able to strain hot mixtures. The handles allow a user to hold the strainer with his or her hands at a safe distance from the container portion while pouring in the hot mixture. However, a strainer having a single handle suffers from the disadvantage that a lone user would have only one hand available for lifting the container holding the hot mixture since the other hand must control the strainer itself. Additionally, the wrist of the hand holding the strainer is subjected to a great strain due to the torque when the mixture is initially deposited into the strainer.
The addition of legs to a strainer allows the user to place the strainer on an even surface, thus freeing both hands for lifting the container having the hot mixture. However, this structure suffers from the disadvantage that it requires the user to place the strainer onto a surface which will permit the separated liquid to flow safely away from the strainer. This is particularly important when straining edibles and comestibles, as it avoids fluid contamination of the food. In most households, the only suitable surface for draining away water or other fluid from a strainer placed thereon is in the kitchen sink. However, when a cook is preparing a meal, the kitchen sink can become the most dear of all the surface areas in a kitchen, and it is often quite inconvenient to devote all or nearly all of the sink to a strainer. Additionally, it may occur that the bottom of the kitchen sink is already occupied by other items such as dirty dishes, vegetable peels, etc., which must be removed therefrom in order to rest a strainer on the sink bottom, requiring additional time and energy when it may be most inconvenient. Failure to remove such objects can result in the strainer tipping over, spilling its contents, or that the contents of the strainer will come into contact with unhygienic or unsavory materials, such as food scrapings, dirty soap water, and the like.
It is notable that the basic design of the strainer has not changed substantially, from a structural standpoint, in thousands of years. The strainers and colanders of today still suffer from these disadvantages. Although modem materials have been developed for manufacturing the strainer and colander of today, most notably the polyethylene, polypropylene, and other plastics and copolymers, the structure has remained relatively unchanged.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for straining which reduces the risk of scalding his or her hands during the straining of hot mixtures.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for straining which reduces the physical stress placed on the user's wrist.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is useable in such a manner as to enable the user to perform other tasks with his or her hands while a straining or rinsing process continues.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for straining or rinsing which permits such process to proceed without requiring any of the area at the bottom of the kitchen sink.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for straining or rinsing, and a method of using same, which will maintain food products being processed elevated well above the bottom of the kitchen sink, thereby avoiding communication of the food products with unhygienic or unsavory materials which may be at the bottom of the sink, such as food waste and trimmings, food scrapings, detergents, and the like.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for straining or rinsing, and a method of using same, wherein the risk of tipping over the strainer and spilling its contents is reduced.